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Webster 1913 Edition

Generation

Genˊer-a′tion

,
Noun.
[OE.
generacioun
, F.
génération
, fr.L.
generatio
.]
1.
The act of generating or begetting; procreation, as of animals.
2.
Origination by some process, mathematical, chemical, or vital; production; formation;
as, the
generation
of sounds, of gases, of curves, etc.
3.
That which is generated or brought forth; progeny; offspiring.
4.
A single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or remove in genealogy. Hence: The body of those who are of the same genealogical rank or remove from an ancestor; the mass of beings living at one period; also, the average lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows another, or father is succeeded by child, usually assumed to be one third of a century; an age.
This is the book of the
generations
of Adam.
Gen. v. 1.
Ye shall remain there [in Babylon] many years, and for a long season, namely, seven
generations
.
Baruch vi. 3.
All
generations
and ages of the Christian church.
Hooker.
5.
Race; kind; family; breed; stock.
Thy mother’s of my
generation
; what's she, if I be a dog?
Shakespeare
6.
(Geom.)
The formation or production of any geometrical magnitude, as a line, a surface, a solid, by the motion, in accordance with a mathematical law, of a point or a magnitude;
as, the
generation
of a line or curve by the motion of a point, of a surface by a line, a sphere by a semicircle, etc.
7.
(Biol.)
The aggregate of the functions and phenomene which attend reproduction.
☞ There are four modes of generation in the animal kingdom: scissiparity or by fissiparous generation, gemmiparity or by budding, germiparity or by germs, and oviparity or by ova.
Alternate generation
(Biol.)
,
alternation of sexual with asexual generation, in which the products of one process differ from those of the other, – a form of reproduction common both to animal and vegetable organisms. In the simplest form, the organism arising from sexual generation produces offspiring unlike itself, agamogenetically. These, however, in time acquire reproductive organs, and from their impregnated germs the original parent form is reproduced. In more complicated cases, the first series of organisms produced agamogenetically may give rise to others by a like process, and these in turn to still other generations. Ultimately, however, a generation is formed which develops sexual organs, and the original form is reproduced.
–
Spontaneous generation
(Biol.)
,
the fancied production of living organisms without previously existing parents from inorganic matter, or from decomposing organic matter, a notion which at one time had many supporters; abiogenesis.

Webster 1828 Edition

Generation

GENERA'TION

,
Noun.
The act of begetting; procreation, as of animals.
1.
Production; formation; as the generation of sounds or of curves or equations.
2.
A single succession in natural descent, as the children of the same parents; hence, an age. Thus we say, the third, the fourth, or the tenth generation. Gen.15.16.
3.
The people of the same period, or living at the same time.
O faithless and perverse generation. Luke 9.
4.
Genealogy; a series of children or descendants from the same stock.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. Gen.5.
5.
A family; a race.
6.
Progeny; offspring.

Definition 2024

Generation

Generation

See also: generation and génération

German

Noun

Generation f ‎(genitive Generation, plural Generationen)

  1. generation

Declension

Derived terms

  • Generationskonflikt
  • Generationswechsel

generation

generation

See also: Generation and génération

English

Noun

generation ‎(plural generations)

  1. The fact of creating something, or bringing something into being; production, creation. [from 14th c.]
    • 1832, Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, II:
      The generation of peat, when not completely under water, is confined to moist situations.
  2. The act of creating a living creature or organism; procreation. [from 14th c.]
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.10:
      So all things else, that nourish vitall blood, / Soone as with fury thou doest them inspire, / In generation seek to quench their inward fire.
    • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum:
      Generation by Copulation (certainly) extendeth not to Plants.
  3. (now US regional) Race, family; breed. [from 14th c.]
    • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, First Folio 1623, I.3:
      Thy Mothers of my generation: what's she, if I be a Dogge?
  4. A single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or degree in genealogy, the members of a family from the same parents, considered as a single unit. [from 14th c.]
    This is the book of the generations of Adam - Genesis 5:1
    Ye shall remain there [in Babylon] many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations - Baruch 6:3
    All generations and ages of the Christian church - Richard Hooker
  5. (obsolete) Descendants, progeny; offspring. [15th-19th c.]
  6. The average amount of time needed for children to grow up and have children of their own, generally considered to be a period of around thirty years, used as a measure of time. [from 17th c.]
    • 2008, Edgar Thorpe, Objective English:
      Before the independence of India the books of Dr P. K. Yadav presented a fundamental challenge to the accepted ideas of race relations that, two generations later, will be true of the writings of the radical writers of the 1970s.
  7. A set stage in the development of computing or of a specific technology. [from 20th c.]
    • 2009, Paul Deital, Harvey Deital and Abbey Deital, iPhone for Programmers:
      The first-generation iPhone was released in June 2007 and was an instant blockbuster success.
  8. (geometry) The formation or production of any geometrical magnitude, as a line, a surface, a solid, by the motion, in accordance with a mathematical law, of a point or a magnitude; as, the generation of a line or curve by the motion of a point, of a surface by a line, a sphere by a semicircle, etc.
  9. A specific age range in which each person in that range can relate culturally to one another.
    Generation X grew up in the eighties, whereas the generation known as the millennials grew up in the nineties.
  10. A version of a form of pop culture which differs from later or earlier versions.
    People sometimes dispute which generation of Star Trek is best, including the original and The Next Generation.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • generation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • generation in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin generatio.

Noun

generation f (plural generations)

  1. generation (procreation; begetting)
  2. generation (rank or degree in genealogy)

Swedish

Noun

generation c

  1. a generation

Declension

Inflection of generation 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative generation generationen generationer generationerna
Genitive generations generationens generationers generationernas

Related terms

  • generera
  • generationsväxling
  • ungdomsgeneration

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌɡeːnəʁaˈt͡si̯oːn/, [ˌɡeːnəʁaˈt͡sjoːn] (standard)
  • IPA(key): /ˌgɛnə-/ (variant in common speech)

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